2.14.2013

Turn It Up

Dr. Bastian Talbot and self-proclaimed sex goddess Charlie Pierce heat up the air waves with their flirty banter as radio hosts Dr. Hot and the Honeypot. Off the air, they're best friends...but Bastian wants to be so much more. He wants Charlie--in bed, and forever.

Problem is, Charlie doesn't do commitment. Sure, she's had X-rated fantasies of Bastian, but he was always just a friend--until he impulsively proposes and unleashes the lust they've been denying for years. Charlie's willing to explore where their wild chemistry leads, but she won't marry him. And he won't have sex with her until she accepts his proposal, despite her seductive schemes.

What are Dr. Hot and the Honeypot to do? Ask their listeners for advice on how to tame a sex kitten and turn a perfect gentleman into a shameless lover. The Race to Wed or Bed is on...who will turn up on top?

An unrequited love/ best friends turned lovers story. In short, a read one can't help but love.

Bastian is in deep for his best friend but he's convinced she hasn't a clue and it wouldn't matter if she did. Meanwhile, Charlie has often allowed her sexual fantasies to include Bastian but there's no wonder about would happen if they took their relationship that far. She knows exactly how it would end, and it *would* end. Bastian wants a forever woman, but for Charlie, lovers come and go. A good friend is what she needs and treasures most in the world.

Bastian, bless him, is an honest man. He's kept his secret for over a year but the moment Charlie even mentions the word [secret] he can't meet her eyes. And it doesn't take much to get him to crack.

Fear forced tears into her eyes and burned her throat. Things were changing this very second. “Don’t.”
“It’s too late. You wanted to know, so know everything. I’m more than attracted to you. I love you. I love you not only as a friend, as my best friend, the best damn friend I’ve ever had, but as a woman. I want you in my life, in my bed and in my heart. Friendship isn’t enough anymore. I want more.”
Hot tears blinded her. She shoved away from him, thrusting off his hands as he reached for her. A sob replaced the moan in her chest. “You just ruined everything.”

Charlie flees, for all of ten seconds. Just long enough to come to the conclusion that he's fucked up everything, so she might as well fuck him. Give herself the fantasy she'd been denying herself all this time. And she almost gets away with it. Except Bastian catches sight of the tears in her eyes. From there, there's a jump through a proposal and a landing in dating. She agrees, for he insists she just needs time to get used to the idea. And the issue even spills into their late night sex talk radio show.

A product of a mother who was way too young and immature to have a child, Charlie developed early, was pushed into stripping to make her way through college, and has never known permanence. I couldn't relate to any of that. But Charlie had me in her corner all the way. Bastian was the one man she trusted not to reduce her to a sexual plaything. She even gave him the chance to screw her back when his marriage was falling apart. But now, like all the rest, he wants her in his bed. She didn't bother paying attention to the rest of what he said!

Ever read a book you enjoyed so much that you didn't want to read it? I was so there with this one. It was too good to end! Beautifully scripted, every case-made or disputed-vibrated with underlying passion. And twisted! There was no way to know what was going to happen next with the constant waves of surprises.

Bastian was the answer to every girl who's ever lost faith in love. Filled with great one liners and zingers that I was doing all kinds of blushing or laughing over, this book has managed to usurp the position as my favorite friends to lovers story. A title previously held by Insatiable by Cari Quinn. Sadly the crown wasn't held for long.

The death of something priceless should be harder to achieve.

So.. I'm going to quote the hell out of this book...

“I’ll get naked when you wear white.”

...and I'm not sorry about it.

At the threshold, he stopped, hand on the frame. His eyes snagged hers and held them. “Charlie, about what you said while I was in the shower…I’m well aware that you don’t need me for certain things. But I’d like to think you want me. Just in case, I got you another present.” He drew a small white bag from his pocket and tossed it to her.
She caught it awkwardly in one hand, juggling the carton in the other. Then he was gone. She set the ice cream on the console ledge and opened the bag. The outer door latched as her laughter burst out.
Bastian had bought her batteries.

It's just too good. I want to remember everything!

She flew too fast and hard without an anchor. Blindly, she clung to him, nails biting into his shoulders. He held her. Bastian would always hold her when she was weakest.

Alas, we near the end:

The inside of his SUV was warm, borderline hot, but he shivered in cold. That’s what happens when your heart stops. Blood doesn’t flow through the veins, heat seeps away, tissues die. Two-minute window. A body had two minutes from the time the heart stopped until permanent damage began. He never knew how agonizing those two minutes were. Not until Charlie left him. Oh my God, what did I do?

Bastian and Charlie exemplified the exact 'argument' my husband and I have had for ever. Men and women translate things differently. History has taught women to look for what isn't there. Thanks to a certain serpent, we've become paranoid, having learned to read between the lines. Whether or not there truly is anything to be found. Bastian says one thing, Charlie hears something else. Bastian says nothing. Charlie hears a hell of a lot. Over and over again. It's truly the one revolving issue that creates all kinds of drama.

“Talk to me, damn it.” He leaped from the footstool. “You were going to say yes. I saw it in your eyes. What did I say that pushed you away?”
“It’s what you didn’t say.” A single tear dropped from her lashes.
“Wait, you’re pissed at me for something I didn’t say but that you heard loud and clear? That makes perfect sense.” Apparently a hangover didn’t wait until all the alcohol left the blood because a headache exploded behind his eyes. “On what fucking planet?”
“You’re being a martyr,” she snapped. “You threw away something you’ve wanted for years because I’m not good enough for you.”
His jaw dropped. “What? Where in the hell did you get that idea?”
A mocking laugh twisted her mouth. “You. If I were Lisa, you’d never have had a vasectomy.”
“Lisa divorced me.”
Her chin lifted. “And I’m going to Arizona.”
“You can go to hell.”

I'm branding this one a 5 star. And throwing in one last quote, spoiler and all, to close this chapter.